Aquarium says critics all wet
Staff defend dolphin displays
Sandra Thomas, Vancouver Courier
Published: Friday, April 11, 2008
The president of the Vancouver Aquarium says critics are using misinformation to paint the non-profit organization in a bad light.

In a Courier story published April 9, members of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity, the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the vice-chair of the B.C. Environmental Network, questioned the aquarium's motive in its application for membership to the environmental network. The aquarium was not available for comment at the time. In the story, spokespeople for the two organizations and the network's vice chair, one of seven directors, questioned the aquarium's dedication to conservation.

"I'm a little mystified because the last time I checked no one would consider No Whales a conservation organization," said Nightingale. "It doesn't do any public education and it doesn't do any programming. It doesn't do anything except protest the aquarium."

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Font:****Annelise Sorg, president of the coalition, wrote to the environmental network asking that it refuse the aquarium's application. The board of directors will make a decision April 14.

Earlier this week, Sorg told the Courier she believes the aquarium's application is damage control in response to a recent letter, she said, sent to Nightingale and other directors of the aquarium from the World Society for the Protection of Animals. The letter asks the directors to agree to stop importing cetaceans--dolphins, whales and porpoises.

Nightingale said he did not receive the letter, nor, he added, did any directors the aquarium contacted in regards to this story. The Courier has a copy of the letter.

"Someone's playing fast and loose with the truth," said Nightingale.

He adds No Whales and the World Society for the Protection of Animals accuse the aquarium of importing dolphins captured during drive fisheries. A drive fishery involves driving pods of dolphins into bays and coves where they're killed for human consumption. The environmental groups accuse the aquarium of buying dolphins captured live during these fisheries and later sold to Japanese aquariums, which resell them at a profit.

"White-sided dolphins aren't caught in drive fisheries," said Nightingale of the aquarium's dolphins. "People need to be more truthful and accurate instead of just saying whatever makes them sound good."

Angela Griffiths, director of conservation for the aquarium, says her entire job is about conservation. She adds the aquarium applied for membership to the environmental network in February. "It's an organization of environmental groups and we thought it would be worthwhile," she said. "It's a logical step."

Griffiths explains her job has three components--conservation, education and research. "My post is a new one and it's growing. We're expanding our programs outside of the aquarium as well and partnering with groups like the [Vancouver] museum and Science World."

© Vancouver Courier 2008